You + Eugene = <3
| Who the heck is Eugene, and why should you love him? I’ll answer that in a second. But first… What if I told you that there was ONE BIG FAT THING that can completely derail any copy you write, any funnel you build, and any offer you pitch? A concept so powerful that getting it wrong could be the difference between bathing in money (‘ala Scrooge McDuck) and bathing in your own tears (‘ala definitely-not-me watching Coco.) |
(Pssst… Trying to do the Scrooge McDuck thing would not only gravely injure you (they did the science), you’d also be diving into a putrid cocktail of horrifying germs. Sorry to ruin the fantasy.) You’d want to know that concept, right? You’d be an idiot not to. Well, the concept I’m talking about—and this mysterious Eugene I mentioned earlier—are connected. It’s all about your prospect’s Awareness Level, a concept Eugene Schwartz digs into in his book “Breakthrough Advertising” — the mere mention of which will send reverent shivers through the spines of devout Schwartzenites around the globe. (Make sure you only say the title in hushed tones while in public for this very reason.) Put simply: what your lead already knows/feels/understands changes EV-ER-Y-THING about the way you should sell to ’em: from how long the copy should be to what the best headline looks like. Ol’ gene walks through five different levels of awareness: 1. Most Aware: They know about your solution, how it works, and why it’s best for them. They don’t need much convincing. To sell to these folks, you just need to show them the deal. Short. Sweet. 2. Product Aware: They know about your product and how it solves their pain—and they know about your competitors, too. They’re trying to figure out which solution is BEST for them. To sell ’em: Prove you’re the right/superior/safest/best fit for THEM. 3. Solution Aware: They understand their pain and the results they want. They’ve heard of solutions like yours, but don’t know your solution or how it works. To sell ’em: Walk them through how your solution will take care of the pains they know they have. 4. Problem Aware: They know they have a problem, but might not fully understand it. They don’t even know solutions like your exist. To sell ’em: Start by agitating their pain and showing them you empathize with what they’re going through, before presenting your new solution. 5. Unaware: These people don’t even know they have a problem. Selling to them means appealing to their current state of mind to help them realize they do—which is hard. For each stage, you have to meet the prospect where they’re at and help them move along the stages of awareness before you can close the deal. Problem Aware leads need to be turned into Solution Aware leads before they can become Product Aware leads and, ultimately, buyers. That usually means more copy. More time. More nurturing. NOW… here’s where this gets JUICY. Imagine you were trying to sell a Solution Aware prospect by sending them a $500 voucher for your product or sending them to a landing page with the headline: “Save $500 with [Solution]”. A waste of money! Why? Because before they can give a crap about pricing, what they REALLY need is help understanding how it works in the first place. Send ’em to content that can help them understand that! And what if you sent a Problem Aware lead to a comparison page, breaking down all of the features of your product vs. your competitor? Flushhhhhhhhhhh… (that’s your money swirling down the tubes) That person couldn’t give two hoots about your features because they don’t even know you can fix the pain they’re feeling. Instead, you should’ve led them into the conversation by exploring the depth of their pain to get them nodding along. You’re probably sitting there thinking… “Well, how do I know how aware my lead is? Where do I learn that!?\” And I’ll answer that… next time. For now, just sit back, munch on ol’ Eugene’s big, juicy, smart brain ideas, and think about where you might be getting this wrong in your marketing (or the copy you’re writing for clients.) |
